Notes and Editorial Reviews

The frottola was the predominant Italian secular song of the late 15th and early 16th-centuries and the most important and widespread predecessor of the madrigal. The simplicity of the melodic line, usually entrusted to a soprano part, and the relatively few contrapuntal lines of the other parts made this repertory for solo voices and lute a popular pastime. Due to improvements in the printing process, more than two dozen books of frottole appeared in print between 1504 and 1531 courtesy of Petrucci and his contemporaries, which contributed to this diffusion and influence.The frottola was the predominant Italian secular song of the late 15th and early 16th-centuries and the most important and widespread predecessor of the madrigal. The simplicity of the melodic line, usually entrusted to a soprano part, and the relatively few contrapuntal lines of the other parts made this repertory for solo voices and lute a popular pastime. Due to improvements in the printing process, more than two dozen books of frottole appeared in print between 1504 and 1531 courtesy of Petrucci and his contemporaries, which contributed to this diffusion and influence. Read less